Keeping Kate: Week 26 Update

Vaught's first pair of John Deere boots... because every little boy's gotta have a pair :)

     It's a little saddening to know that I'll be leaving lovely Trimester Two in just two short weeks (be on the lookout for a post about surviving the second trimester!). This really was the "golden" time of pregnancy, but I still feel so good, it's hard to imagine it all going downhill from here. I've realized that a lot of what other women told me about their pregnancies and what I should be prepared for is not true for mine, and I'm really thankful. Since I've begun drinking only water, I have little to no swelling unless I'm on my feet for several hours. My energy level is neither terribly low nor sky high; I have just enough to do what I need to do and have a productive day; I'm always ready to lie down and rest at about nine! I know I'm "only" at week 26 with hopefully no more than fourteen to go until we meet our baby boy, but pregnancy has really not been hard. So many women talk about it like it's the nine most miserable months of your life, and maybe for some of them it really is, but I guess I've been one of the lucky ones. The back pain that hit in the middle of the second trimester was the worst part, but I've found some amazing exercise routines that combat it better than I could have ever imagined.

     After that embarrassing twelve pound gain two weeks ago, I began following the gestational diabetic diet, although I won't know if I have GD until July first. I'm happy to say that today I am down eight pounds from that day, putting my total gain at a healthy 14.5 pounds. Again, I have to say to those who may read this and think I'm a little obsessed with it and am risking harming Vaught, my doctor is very much informed of my diet and exercise plans; he helped me put them together! I'm eating about 2,000 calories per day--2,000 of the really good things that our bodies need, so Vaught's definitely getting all he needs, trust me! It's unrealistic of me to try not to gain any more, but I am going to make an effort to keep it extremely minimal, for my and baby's sake. You also have to consider that I had to have been eating terribly before to lose so quickly... I was in an Italian wedding a few weeks ago; carbs for days, y'all :)

     At my cousin's baby shower in Memphis last Saturday, a family friend asked me an interesting question: "Do you love being pregnant?" No one has asked me that yet. And I don't know if I'd really volunteered any information that prompted her to ask me that, but I had just been telling my pregnant cousin, due in August, how great I felt and how much I'm enjoying this time in my life.

But do I love being pregnant?

I don't really know, but I don't think so. I told her that I didn't love it but didn't hate it, and what I mean is that I think pregnancy goes either way for me. I love what this means for Eric and me; I love our little man already and can't wait to meet him. I don't love not having much control over my body and what it's doing though, and I think that's hard for every woman. My belly has started to push forward, so I actually had ~~yet another~~ a meltdown Saturday morning in my closet because I couldn't find anything to wear. No, not that nothing fit; almost everything still fits. But I'm a little more self-conscious now, as is probably common. I love the days when I really do feel like this cute little pregnant woman, but I hate when people stare, and they are starting to do that lately. Some women love it and some women hate it, and I think I'm glad to be right there in between. I'm just totally okay with it.

Movement: I read something about how the next few weeks will be his most active, and I believe it! I feel him all the time, and I am glad that he is finally discovering other places to poke and prod besides my bladder! I've grabbed Eric's hand at certain times and pressed it to my belly when I knew he should be able to feel him kicking... But it's as if Vaught knows what I'm doing and is like, Yeah right, mom. I do what I want. I'm also starting to think that I can feel him shifting positions, weird as that may sound. It's a tightening sensation for just a moment, and I feel a couple of kicks, then it's like Vaught's situated!

How I'm feeling: Once again, great! I'm officially ignoring everyone who's like "wait til this happens, wait til that." Very little of it has applied to me, especially the negative side effects. Every pregnancy is different!
I am feeling/acting pretty hormonal these days; do not mess with me, at least not in a bad manner. I will let you know what's up in a heartbeat. Two weeks ago I let a TJMaxx employee (whom I've had some issues with before) have it, and if you're from the South you now what it is.

Saturday evening, I was with my mother, aunt, and grandmother at Firebirds Restaurant in Collierville, TN. As we were putting our name down for a table, a lady and her husband came in to sign in their name too. My grandmother is 74, so of course I'm going to ask her if the wait is okay, do we want to put our name down and leave, informing the hostess that we can't have a high table, you know-- the things you do when you have an elderly family member with you! I notice this lady roll her eyes at me as I'm talking to the very polite hostess. Then she tells her husband that we are "taking forever." No ma'am. I told her we would take our time and she would be helped when we finished. We ended up having to wait about forty minutes, which we spent browsing at Dillard's. I guess the other lady and her husband got seated fairly quickly because when we were seated, they were almost finished with their dinner. Husband kept looking over at our table, and I finally just caught his eye and gave him a look that I hope said Do not make me come over there.

I'm also a little gutsier with our customers who call the office and want to talk their way out of paying what they owe on their accounts. Last week I informed a lady that in order stay current on her mortgage, she must make twelve full payments, as there are currently twelve months in a year. She didn't think I was too cute.

You just don't want to deal with me sometimes. I also cry at everything. After my meltdown Saturday morning, we went shopping before my cousin's shower. We ended up at Kohl's, where my mother went straight to the women's section and started scouring the racks for dresses for me. She found a cute one by Vera Wang's Kohl's collection and a few others by another line that I like. I started crying because I was just so grateful that she wanted to buy me some dresses. I mean, it didn't surprise me--that's just my mother! She knew exactly what I needed to cheer me up. She often reminds me of how beautiful I am, pregnant or not. I'm tearing up a little right now thinking of how kind she is to me and to everyone. I was so thankful to leave Kohl's with five new dresses and a couple of tops and a pair of sandals that are perfect fits to last me through the end of this journey.

Other Symptoms

HEARTBURN like crazy, usually in late afternoon. I'm popping Tums like breath mints! Vaught Pace had better come out with a full head of hair!

I would like to announce to the world and everyone reading that I have 0000000 stretch marks at this point. I just knocked on my desk (it's not true wood but looks that way) three times for luck.

It's been weeks since I've not been jolted awake in the early morning with a Charlie horse in my calf! No amount of pickle juice or bananas seem to stop it!

Up next: Countdown to the glucose test: twelve days. I am praying for the best! I have lost weight with the GD diet, which I know will thrill my doctor! It makes me feel better about the whole thing too. However, weight really doesn't matter with the glucose test; about 5-7% of all pregnant women will have GD, and it occurs in women of all shapes and sizes. Even still, it feels good to get rid of some of the unnecessary gain.

A Room of His Own: This is actually the title of an entry I'm working on and will post once we have Vaught's room completely put together. But I did make a big purchase this week-- his crib! I actually found this beautiful crib at the Walmart in Holly Springs. It's not the one I had originally found online that I loved, but I saw this one a couple of weeks ago while grocery shopping and kept having to go back just to look at it. Tuesday morning, I was talking about it with my mother, who wanted to come with me at lunchtime so that she could see it. After she told me how beautiful she thought it was (remember how I told you my mother's opinion means more than anyone else's?), I knew it was the one. We left Walmart with it that day! I am almost done painting his room--just gotta get the husband on a ladder to touch up the trim and parts of the ceiling that I've hit with the roller (whups). I love having twelve foot ceilings in my house, but they're a pain when it comes to painting! I plan to be completely finished painting by this Saturday so that Eric and I can tackle putting this crib together and get this baby room ready!

Family Beach Vacay: Our annual family beach vacation is coming up in three weeks! I haven't been since 2011, so I'm more than excited to be able to go this year, though I hate to leave the husband behind for a few days :( I definitely deserve a little relaxation before Baby Pace arrives! I mention the vacation because in a couple of weeks I have got to find a decent swimsuit for the trip. I've tried a couple of maternity suits on at Target... would you believe most of the XL's are too big on me?? This could end up being more of a hassle than I'd expected, but I'm just so glad to get to go this year! When Eric got hurt at work last summer, we had to cancel our short honeymoon to Orange Beach; it won't be the same without him there, but I'm determined to have a little fun in the sun.